equivalent of the sable, have a fur length of about one and one-half inches long. The color varies from pale grey to orange-brown and dark brown. The American pine marten sports a reddish brown coat and an orange-tinted throat, but their numbers in the wild were depleted until after the turn of the century. Their European cousin the stone marten is a paler beige color with a cream throat. The stone martens that are the most valuable have a bluish cast to the fur with the underfur being lighter, and were popular in the 50's with stone marten stoles, typically made of three to five pelts, being features in shows such as I Love Lucy. Martens are desirable due to their mid-length fur and the durability of the hair follicles. The pelt of a marten possesses an oily texture similar to mink, but a longer silky hair such as a fox. Mink Mink fur is the most popular fur traded worldwide. Its fur is durable, and the hairs are rather short, but very thick and soft. The guard hairs do not break readily, and the underfur does not tend to become matted. Sunlight gradually fades its original dark brown color a warmer tone, making it less attractive with time. Up until the invention of the fur sewing machine, mink fur was unpopular. Wild mink are small mammals, males weighing 1 kg (2 lb 3 oz), making them difficult to work into a full garment. Once the fur sewing machine and fur farming became popular it was possible to breed farmed minks to be significantly larger and to use a method called "letting out" to make the mink pelt almost twice as long. Nutria Nutria, or coypu fur is traditionally sheared, dyed and plucked. Its light weight makes it suitable for linings as well as coats, accessories and trims. Sometimes is now used without shearing or plucking, with the most valuable furs being in the richer browns. It is sometimes promoted as a 'guilt-free' fur, as it is considered a pest in the southern United States. Otter Otter fur is about an inch long, erect, and thick. It is durable, ranking with mink fur, and is used chiefly for trimming garments. Otter fur is typically used in men's fashion as it has a dark brown, rugged look. River otters are currently the most common species currently used in the fur trade